As the holiday season comes to a close, I’m sure many Jets and Giants fans feel that this NFL season on the whole has been a giant lump of coal instead of a great present.

The Giants are in the middle of the worst season in franchise history. The Jets are in NFL purgatory, where they’re 5-10 and have no true answers at head coach and quarterback.

It’s obvious that the road back to meaningful January football more often than not does not happen overnight, but the narrative can change very quickly.

It can change for the worse, look at the Giants from 2016 to 2017, but on the flip side, think about how a season and a franchise narrative can change within a single season.

At the beginning of the year, the San Francisco 49ers were looked at as one of the worst teams in football.

In the offseason, San Francisco brought in Hall Of Fame safety John Lynch to be the general manager and Kyle Shanahan from the high-powered Atlanta Falcons offense to be the next head coach.

The buzz around the league is that the 49ers brought in two quality football guys to get their operation back on track.

Through 11 games, the Niners were 1-10, unwatchable, and didn’t exactly have hope heading into the offseason.

That feeling of hopelessness disappeared suddenly with a trade on Halloween that brought Patriots backup quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to San Francisco in exchange for a second-round pick.

The Patriots were stuck between a rock and a hard place. They loved Jimmy G, they believed in him playing for the suspended Tom Brady a year ago, but it’s become pretty obvious that Tom Brady doesn’t plan on hanging up the spikes anytime soon.

The Patriots couldn’t pay both quarterbacks a ton of money, so they were forced to make a trade.

Since the 49ers decided to insert Garoppolo into their starting lineup, they are undefeated.

Garoppolo has completely changed the culture of that franchise. He has swagger, he looks the part of a franchise quarterback, and has provided instant credibility for a franchise that has been dying for some.

The trio of Lynch, Shanahan and Jimmy G appears set for years to come in the Bay Area.

It’s a lesson for Jets and Giants fans.

If you put the right people in place, if you make the right moves, things can change suddenly.

The Niners will be the most optimistic 5-11 or 6-10 team headed into the offseason.

They have a GM, coach and quarterback they can believe in.

That’s where it starts.

Time to take notes and find answers if you’re the New York locals.

You can listen to me Thursday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., Sunday from 2 to 6 a.m. & Monday from 1 to 6 a.m. on WFAN Sports Radio 660/1019 FM. You can also listen to me Wednesday & Friday from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. on CBS Sports Radio.JJ’s Week 17 Unlocks